Years in the Making
by Xandochu
Summary: Nemuri Fudan was bound by blood to her clan, and by duty to her village. But when the time came, which would claim her loyalty? GaaraXOCXSasuke
1. Chapter 1

Fudan, a powerful name – one that held sway across the Land of Fire, and especially within its hidden village, Konohagakure. It's an old name as well – spanning, at least in written history, almost as far back as the Uchiha and Senju clans. Though not involved with the initial forming of Konoha, we found ourselves forced into an alliance to assure our survival. We had only a small handful of clan members at the time, and with the growing alliances of ninja we had little choice. Join Konoha, the Senju, and Uchiha, or perish in time and blood. And through our unwilling alliance, we lived up to our name – Fudan; we are constant, persistent. At the brink of our extinction, we came back stronger – in numbers and will. Like a phoenix, we emerged from the flames, reborn from the ashes of seemingly un-ending war. We found ourselves a niche in Konoha society, not nearly as involved as the Senju, and not as cut-off as the Uchiha.

In truth, we have largely lost our way in the last few decades. Originally, the Kyokan, our kekkai genkai allowed us to read the emotions of our enemies. We were largely employed as torturers – but also diplomats. A weak kekkai genkai, when compared to the Sharingan or Byakugan, yet it helped carve our path. We helped to form the Konoha Torture and interrogation Squad, and in times of peace, we helped the people of Konoha – specifically the clans – in better working together. In times of negotiation, there was a Fudan there. Yet, despite this peaceful front we presented to the people of our village, we hid our true selves behind the confines of our compound.

Brutality, abuse and control through fear ran rampant. The elders, specifically, the clan head – Jibun, instilled fear in the younger generations. Through this fear, he could control any and all movements within the Fudan clan. Even his own sons walked upon eggshells – knowing one miniscule action or opinion would jeopardize their standing within the line of succession. Already, I walked on that tight-rope, having accidentally spilled tea on Uchiha Fugaku as a small child. That night I had been taken to the basement chambers – for two weeks they kept me there. For two weeks, I was to endure the beatings and the constant threat of death. I was provided water, and the base neccesities for food – we Fudans' are not monsters after all. But upon removal from the chambers, I was told by my mother. If Uchiha-san had not forgiven me, or if I made one more slip, I was to be _removed_ from the Fudan clan.

I had thought for quite a while this meant banishment, until only a month later, my dear cousin Junko had revealed her intent to marry outside the clan. That night, the entire clan gathered in the largest room in the basement chambers and watched. Watched as Junko, so beautiful with her lilac hair and turquoise eyes, was brought forward. Emaciated, blood and yellow pus oozing from her wounds – her face half burned, twisting the flesh and rendering her left eye melted shut. Jibun read off her crimes, his voice echoing throughout the room, forcing everyone's attention to him. Even if I tried to look away, he commanded attention.

_"Fudan Junko, your crimes against our clan – __**your **__clan, are as follows. First and foremost, the act of treason against the blood. For disobeying orders from your clan elders, for betraying clan secrets to outsiders, and for contaminating the Fudan blood – I, Fudan Jibun, head of our clan, have found you guilty. Do you have any words, or are you prepared for your removal?" _A strong, unwavering voice, with disgust dripping off every word – yet it was captivating. Everyone's attention was on Jibun, rather than the shivering mess beside him.

_"I have committed no crimes – I didn't tell Ryuu anything I swear. Please Mom, Dad, please, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I won't marry him – don't do this!" _I remember how she continued to plead. Repeating the words 'I'm Sorry' as if it were a mantra – yet as I gazed over to her parents, a look of resignation on both their faces. Their daughter had betrayed them, _us, _and would rightly suffer the consequences. As all those who came before her had, and those who came after would.

_"Enough! For your crimes, the punishment is as it has always been – Removal!"_

Removal. That dreaded word. As Junko continued to cry and plead, a murmur broke out among my clansmen.

_"Fudan Junko is removed. Fudan Junko is removed. Junko has been removed."_

Removal. Death came swiftly for her. Jibun's youngest brother stepped forward, and with several hand movements it was done. Junko screams echoed as the flame tore at her skin. The stench of burning flesh filled my nostrils – and even now, six years later, I can remember it as if it were happening in front of me at this very moment. And then she was nothing. A burned corpse laying on the ground. And Jibun's final order rang through -

_"Fudan Junko no longer exists. She has never existed, and there will never be another. Her name is not to be uttered again, those with remnants of her – photos or letters, they will be burned tomorrow at dusk. The name 'Junko' will no longer exist for the Fudan clan."_

Complete erasure from our books, although she may have existed in Konoha – as far as their records were concerned, she was erased – as per the agreement made with the First Hokage in return for the Fudan's clans continued loyalty and service. When Ryuunoske Taro approached the compound several days after her removal, and questioned of her whereabouts he was simply told:

_"There is no Junko Fudan."_

It was barbaric, the removal process. And yet, there was nothing we, I, could do to stop it. While more have occured since Junko's, none remain so embedded in my memory. Though I do remember them all, and when I questioned my mother in the dead of the night she replied in kind that she to, remembered all removals. She also commented that I should never speak of them – they were a clan secret, to ask if she remembered them was okay, to ask their names, to mention their names, was not. Their name was to never be used again in the naming of a child, and for all intents and purposes, they had never existed.

My own parents, Namie and Hiruzen were prominent figures in the clan, and tried to protect me from the more beastly acts committed. I was a lucky one – my father had taken only the one wife, and not the multiples granted to the higher ranking men in the family. As such, I stood as the First Daughter of the First Wife, entitling me to the best – especially as my mother, Namie, was Jibun's younger sister. They taught me kindly, as kindly as they could – I would still be punished for mistakes and failures, but at least I had not seen the basement chambers outside removals since my mistake six years ago. I would endure beatings from my parents, but they were not as drastic as the ones given to my cousins. There were scars, there were days when I cursed them, but I was still 'lucky'.

But really, when born into the Fudan clan, there is only so much 'luck' to go around. Where I was spared, others suffered. Mikan, the boy who lived next to my own home in the compound, was sweet, soft even. He couldn't throw kunai straight, he prefered flowers to jutsu, and was punished regularly for failing his courses at the Academy. I can still remember coming home from a day of kunoichi training and seeing him. He had been chained to the post outside his doorway, bruises and blood covering most of him, crying into the dirt. He had failed out of the Academy, and while he would not be removed, he would suffer for his failure. He remained there for two days, his father forbidding anyone from providing him with food or water. His cries would ring through the night and I would lay awake in my bed, listening until he finally slept.

I excelled at the Academy – with genjutsu and ninjutsu being my specialties. I was not as good as Sasuke Uchiha, but I placed well enough to garner praise from my teachers. My parents were proud of me, and had the highest hopes for me. I was their only child however, and my mother pulled me aside one day to state the facts:

I could be a kunoichi until the day I married. At that point, I was to become a house wife, obedient to her husband. But she promised me that I would not be any lower than a First Wife. My sons would be the first heirs, even if a Second or Third Wife bore sons before me. And with any hope, I would become the First Wife of Kai, Jibun's third son – but his true heir, born to his First Wife.

Even now, I think this unfair. Why would I have to give up my dreams and career to serve as nothing more than a broodmare? Yet, if I voiced my opinions publicly, or refused when the time came, I would be subject to removal. And I swore to myself, that I would find a way out. I would not be 'removed', nor would I be a house wife.

I am Nemuri Fudan, and I will be a great kunoichi – tomorrow, however, I must graduate from the Academy, and take my first real steps into the world.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any recognizable characters, elements from the Naruto storyline.**

**Please read and review.**

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><p>I woke to the sounds of my mother busying herself in the kitchen, the smell of breakfast cooking reaching my nose. I inhaled the scent deeply, bacon and pancakes – one of my favourite meals. Today was the day of the Genin test, finding out whether the years of training had done me any good at all. Tonight my family would gather with Jibun's and any others in the clan with children graduating to celebrate – if we passed. I know I will, Father had been helping me along with increased vigor this year, I would not fail him. I was worried about Kai though, as Jibun's heir, quite a bit was expected of him. It was already bad enough that he wasn't ranked first in our year, but if he failed – and it was well known that his hand signs were clumsy – instead of celebrating, there would be a 'Removal' instead. Of course, Jibun's second wife Nadeshiko was hoping for this. If Kai was removed, her son Jin would inherit the title of Clan Head instead.<p>

Climbing out of my warm bed, I pushed aside the thoughts of Kai and Jibun, and busied myself with getting prepared for the day. I slipped on a black tight-fitted t-shirt with the Clan symbol on the right shoulder, a golden swirling triskelion, with the hem ending just as it touched my belly button. Next were a pair of black knee-length tights, and over-top of those was a white skirt, ending at the middle of my thighs. I pulled my shoulder length light brown hair up into a low ponytail – I'd have to cut it soon if I didn't want it interfering with my training and duties as a kunoichi. Not too short though, perhaps if I cut just a few inches so it hit my jaw...

Brushing my teeth, and washing my face, I gazed into the mirror above the porcelain sink. I looked like the majority of Fudan's. Brown hair, sharp blue eyes (for now, anyway. When I turned sixteen, they would change – just like any other Fudan), pale skin – nearly the perfect combination of my parent's best features. I had gained my mother's high cheekbones, and my father's sharp jaw. I was lucky to evade the rather large nose of my father – and had a small perked up one, unfortunately with the rest of my facial features it appeared I was constantly looking down on those around me. Sighing, I finished my morning routine, and climbed down the stairs to the kitchen.

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><p>My Mother greeted me with a smile,<p>

"Good Morning Nemuri-Chan, how was your sleep?"

"It was good – I dreamt that I was at the beach. It was quite refreshing... Do you think we might go to a beach this coming summer?" I asked, sitting down at the oak dining table.

"You'd have to ask your Otou-san about that, but I suppose as long as the summer house is free and you and Otou-san aren't busy with missions, he could ask Jibun-Sama." She placed a plate in front of me, before adding several slices of bacon and two pancakes. Smiling, she turned back to the oven beginning to work on the tea she would share with my father.

"Ask Jibun-Sama what, Dear?" Ah, there he was. He approached my mother, kissing her quickly, before settling down at the table with his own breakfast.

"Nemuri-Chan just mentioned visiting the beach this summer – it has been quite a while, perhaps a few days out at the summer house would be good." She replied, serving him tea.

"Hmm, it's not a bad idea Namie," Began Father. "But we will have to check with Jibun-Sama first. Who knows, he might accompany us if we do go; It'll be good for you and Kai to spend more time together Nemuri. After all, he is the next Head, and you'd want for nothing if you and he married some day." Ah. Always back to that – always back to the expectations for myself and Kai. It's not that I absolutely didn't want to marry him, I just...I wish I had more of a choice. I didn't want to end up like Junko though, completely erased from the Clan, a distant uneasy memory no one would acknowledge. Besides, there were boys other than Kai who were close to my age. Kyoya, Kaneki, Hiro... It wasn't as if my _only_ option was Kai. It's just that Kai was the** best** option.

"Uh, yeah. That sounds wonderful Otou-San," I sighed, and finished off the last piece of bacon on my plate. Standing, I bowed to my parents. "It's time I head off. Don't want to be late on my last day."

"Have a good day Dear. And remember, stay away from that damn Uzumaki kid. He's nothing but bad news. If you end up on his team, you come straight to me and tell me, I'll get you moved so you can have _respectable_ teammates."

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><p>As I walked towards the Academy, I mulled over my father's parting words. I never understood why exactly no-one was allowed Naruto. It was almost as if everyone hated him simply to have someone to hate. Sure he was annoying, always pulling pranks and causing trouble, but it was clear as day to me that he only did those things for attention. He was one of many orphans left behind after the Kyuubi attack twelve years ago, and nobody reacted so strongly to any of those kids. Maybe if he had parents, or even someone to give him attention, he wouldn't act out so much. But what did I know? Maybe he actually did do something terrible, something so awful to cause an entire village to despise him. If he had though, I'm sure I would have heard about it by now. It's not like he pulled the stunt Sasuke's brother had – Sure I had never spoken to Naruto out of fear of reprisal from my parents, but I just can't see someone who acted so happy committing such a heinous act. Well, it wasn't any of my business anyway. Let the adults do as they please, even if it means teaching an entire generation to hate one of their own.<p>

Quietly, I entered my classroom, heading towards the back row to sit between Shikamaru Nara and Hinata Hyuuga. They were both quiet people, something I greatly appreciated, and they were good friends of mine.

Hinata and I often ate our lunches together, her talking about different subjects, ranging from her secret crush to how her little sister was developing, to whatever task we had studied that day in class. She was smart, not as smart as Shikamaru, but definitely intelligent. It was nice to have someone outside the Clan to talk to as well, even if I technically wasn't supposed to speak about certain things. I'd never mentioned anything about the removals, or the more barbaric acts that took place inside the compound. I didn't want to worry the poor girl, especially when she was already worrying about how weak she claimed to be in comparison to other Hyuuga's. Still, it was nice to sit and chat without fear that whatever I said would find it's way back to Jibun.

Shikamaru and I were friends mainly for scholarly reasons, he'd help me out on particularly tough assignments, and I'd subtly wake him up before Iruka-Sensei noticed he was asleep. It was a simple relationship, but it worked for the both of us. His help let me keep my grades up when I was sure they would slip, and I would make sure he didn't get scolded by his parents for sleeping through class again. Though not close, I did like to consider us friends. I wonder if he thought the same for me?

A few minutes before class was to start, Sasuke Uchiha walked into the room, and just like every other day, a small fight broke out amongst his fangirls for the honour of sitting next to him. As if the closer they sat, the more likely it was for him to declare his love from the top of the Hokage monument for them. I'd laugh if it turned out he had a crush on a girl who sat across the room from him, it would show those fangirls right for causing such a disruption each day. Though, the two who caused the largest scene were Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno. Both were pretty, smart, and rambunctious. The Yamanaka clan and mine were close due to working alongside each other in the Torture and Interrogation Squad. I often saw Ino when my father and hers would meet up after work, we'd talk, mainly about how she would win Sasuke over, sometimes about our goals after becoming genin, whilst our fathers chatted about their families and upcoming missions. I also enjoyed discussing flowers with Ino, as she was helping me through cultivating an orchid I had bought at her family flower shop a month ago.

The small argument was finally settled when Chouji Akimichi came and took the seat they fought desperately for. In the end, Ino smiled at me as she sat down beside Shino Aburame. Mind you, Ino was rather frightened of the boy, not that I blamed her. Even the thought of the insects crawling inside him sent shivers down my spine.

The clock ticked on, and as it did, the atmosphere in the classroom became more antsy. Iruka-sensei was close to an hour late. Mizuki-sensei was there, but could barely keep the more rowdy students under control. It was nearly an hour and a half after class was due to start that Iruka-sensei finally showed up, dragging a tied up Naruto behind him.

"This is no time to be causing trouble," yelled Iruka, a vein appearing next to his eye. "Tomorrow is the graduation exam, and you've failed the last two times!" Ah, scolding Naruto, I wonder what he did this time other than try to skip class. "Today we're going to review Henge no Jutsu! Everyone line up!" Iruka turned his attention to the rest of us, and almost collectively we unleashed a resounding:

"WHAT!?" I sighed, we'd been reviewing Henge no Jutsu for what seemed like forever, over the last week or two it was consistently chakra control and Henge...and thanks to Naruto, we'd have yet another day of it. He certainly wasn't winning himself any friends that way.

One by one, we filed down the the front of the classroom, and one by one we performed the hand symbols and most of us successfully transformed into Iruka-sensei. A boy named Rei accidentally made Iruka's nose to large, and a girl named Ami forgot his scar – but they wouldn't be docked heavily for those small mistakes. I managed to do perfectly, turning into an identical duplicate of Iruka-sensei. Finally it was Naruto's turn. The entire class knew he'd mess it up, he always did. And it wasn't small mistakes either, I remember one day he partially transformed, getting the face right, but the body was lumpy and malformed.

"Transform!"

And oh. Oh my goodness. Instead of Iruka-sensei, Naruto had transformed into a naked woman with blonde pigtails and his own tell-tale whisker marks. And poor Iruka-sensei, he could have knocked himself out in losing so much blood from his nosebleed. Finally, Naruto turned back into himself, and started laughing.

"I call it 'Sexy no Jutsu'!"

"You dumbass! Don't invent stupid skills!"

Well, in Naruto's defense, it was a pretty good transformation. The woman he became was, at least from my knowledge, anatomically correct.


	3. Chapter 3

This was it. After all Naruto had pulled, it was time for the final test to determine who would become a genin, and who would need to repeat the course again. I watched as my fellow classmates were called into a separate room where Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei waited for them. We knew the test was going to be on Bunshin no Jutsu – the clone technique. And while I was fairly good at it, managing at least three perfect clones (any more than that and they tended to get sloppier; I really should work on my chakra control some more when I get home), I knew some of my classmates were lacking. Naruto especially, not only was he dead last in the class, the clone technique was the worst one for him.

"Fudan, Nemuri!" Ah, finally! I just wanted to get this over with…I mean, I am excited about becoming a ninja – but I'm also quite nervous. To be a ninja is a dangerous line of work, and was I really ready for it? I suppose it doesn't matter what I think, what matters is what the clan thinks. If they want me to be a ninja, then I must become a ninja. There is no leeway for those who disobey the orders of the elders, and at least I had some proficiency in this line of work if I were to determine my abilities simply by my classwork. Kai… Kai had no such luck. If it weren't for Naruto, I'm sure it would be Kai in the dead last position. He could barely perform jutsu, let alone throw a kunai. Any other profession would be better suited for Kai, but this is the one he had been born into.

I entered the empty classroom across the hall from my usual one, and before me sat Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei, in front of them an entire table filled with hitai-ate.

"Alright Nemuri-chan, you need to perform bunshin no jutsu to the best of your abilities. Are you ready?" Questioned Mizuki-sensei, smiling at me as he always did. I gave a sharp nod of my head, and began the proper hand symbols. In a flash, three clones, identical down to the tiny burn scar on my left hand, stood on either side of me. Iruka-sensei smiled, and let out a loud,

"Congratulations!" And with that, I had gained my hitai-ate and was now officially a genin.

I was right, in the end. Naruto Uzumaki did not pass the test. To fail for a third time – that must hurt. That meant this was the third time he had to watch his classmates graduate and move on without him. I just felt bad for him, not only did he fail; he had no parents to comfort him either. And the adults around just kept saying how _good _it was that the _'little beast'_ had not become a ninja. Not as if they would tell anyone _why _Naruto was shunned by almost every adult in the village – it was supposed to be kept secret per the rules of the Hokage. Even so, I am curious why my parents didn't want me around him, why nobody wanted their child around him. As far as I'm aware, the worst Naruto's ever done was pull some pranks on the wrong people. Oh well, it's not my place to ask. In fact, my place was now before my parents, as they offered their own congratulations.

"Well done Nemuri-chan, passing in the top three of your class!" My mother gushed. "We're having a celebratory dinner with Jibun-sama and Kai-kun tonight, after all it isn't everyday your precious child becomes a genin!" Ah, so Kai did pass. Good for him, but it still had me worried. A lack of skill, a lack of want to fight – he could easily die young as a ninja.

"Sounds wonderful Kaa-san," I responded. Even if I don't like being around Jibun, or Kai, I still was expected to respect them. If they were having us over for dinner, I must be on my best behaviour.

"Now, where are you going to put your hitai-ate?" Asked my father, my forehead protector resting in his hand; "Perhaps on the forehead where many put it? Or, maybe around your waist like your friend Ino?" I paused for a moment, looking over to where Ino stood, her father Inoichi standing tall and proud, as Ino boasted about claiming the spot for top female in the class. I reached out to take my hitai-ate, and slowly but surely, I fastened it around my neck. Not tight enough to cause trouble eating or breathing, but not loose enough to cause it to fly up and hit me in the face.

From this day forward, I was a ninja!

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><p>I sighed, picking at my white obi yet again. Because of this stupid dinner with Jibun, I had been forced to dress up – and dressing up meant a full homongi and obi – topped with a kanzashi. At least I was getting away with wearing just a small decorated comb instead of a full headdress. My mother and father walked in front of me, their geta clicking on the path. My mother looked even more beautiful in her tomesode, the golden triskelion shining brightly on the back. It only took a few minutes to reach the main house, as our own sat just a few houses down in the center of the compound. Jibun stood tall, a fierce look on his face. His eyes rested one only one thing, on me. Kai stood beside him, green eyes turned towards the ground. I could see how nervous he was, he didn't want to be a ninja. Not that I could blame him, it was a hard life to look forward too. At least, for us, we were somewhat lucky. We were living in a time of relative peace, there was no war Konoha was currently involved with, we would not be sent directly out to fight and kill enemy ninja as our parents had during the second shinobi war.<p>

I bowed before Jibun and Kai, just as my parents taught me, before coming back up to meet his eyes. Cold, and calculating, he looked me over before nodding his response.

"Come now, dinner is waiting."

I sat beside Kai, yet another machination of our parents. Typically I would have been sat beside my mother, as I was her daughter, just as Kai would have been beside Jibun as his son. I had to make the best of this, as our parents' spoke of clan issues and recent events in Konoha.

"Kai-kun, who do you think will be on your team?" I questioned, sipping at my green tea. He jumped, finally tearing his eyes from his hands. Did I really surprise him so much? Surely he would have expected to be dragged into conversation.

"I..I'm not sure…I didn't do so well, so they'll probably place me with someone in the top of the class. Maybe Yamanaka-san, or even Uchiha-san…" He let the sentence die off, again turning his eyes away from me and onto his hands.

"I'm sure you did fine, you did graduate after all. Unlike Uzumaki-san – poor boy, failing three times in a row." I made sure to whisper the last part, so that my parents and Jibun did not overhear it.

"Y-yeah, that's true. I do feel kind of bad for him… B-but everyone says it's a good thing he didn't graduate." He replied, nodding along with his own opinion. "W-what about you Nemuri-chan, who do you think will be on your team?" I paused for a moment, going through our list of classmates. The teams were structured to be balanced, putting the best with the worst. I was skilled with ninjutsu, and a bit with genjutsu, my taijutsu however was only average. The people they put me with would have to make up for that fault, and any other faults my teachers had seen.

"Maybe Inuzuka-san, he would certainly make up for my taijutsu…And perhaps Haruno-san as well. She seems quite adept and quick to learn." I replied. He nodded along yet again, and I began to grow annoyed. This is why I hated speaking with Kai, he rarely contributed to the conversation – just nodding his head if he wasn't sure how to reply, or if he didn't want to reply. Sighing, I turned my attention back to my meal, and stayed quiet until the end of the dinner.

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><p>Two days later, I stood in front of the Academy for the last time. Today was the day of our team assignments , today I would find out who I would spend almost all of my time with – at least until I became a Chunin. I stepped inside the rowdy classroom, taking a look at everyone else before grabbing a seat next to a boy called Rei Ueda.<p>

"Hey Naruto! You know this is only for students who passed right?" Shikamaru called across the classroom. I turned to the door, and there stood Naruto Uzumaki, his forehead protector shining in the light.

"You see this? This means I did pass!" And he let out a loud laugh, his smile wide and true. He made his way towards an empty seat – the one remaining beside Sasuke, but just before he could actually sit down Ino and Sakura burst in, shouting about which one had beat the other there. I let out a sigh, and place my head between my hands. _That's it, _I thought, _I'm not paying attention until the teams are announced. _

There was another loud outburst among my classmates before Iruka-sensei finally showed up. Coughing to gain our attention, he congratulated us once again, before settling down to call out the teams.

"Team 7, Naruto Uzumaki…Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha." Cheers and groans were heard, both from Sasuke's fans and even from Naruto, who desperately wanted to be on any team with Sakura, and without Sasuke.

"Team 8, Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuuga, and Shino Aburame… Team 9, Rei Ueda, Nemuri Fudan, and Kai Fudan." Iruka read out, continuing on after a small display from Naruto about why he absolutely shouldn't be placed with Sasuke.

Oh shit.

Seriously? I didn't even think they were allowed to put two of the same clan on a team together. Kai smiled at me weakly from his seat across the room, and Rei, who sat beside me, let out a cheer –

"Oh sweet!"

I let out an inaudible groan. Let's hope whichever sensei we get knew what they were doing, because frankly, I can't see how the three of us could ever form a functional team.


	4. Chapter 4

Kai, Rei and I waited patiently as various Jounin came to pick up their teams. A few were easily recognizable, who wouldn't know the face of Asuma Sarutobi – the Hokage's son? A few were less so, a beautiful woman with curly black hair and bright red eyes came by for Hinata's team – and yet, ours was taking their sweet time. There were only a few teams left when the door slid open yet again, the remaining team's eyes all focusing on the newcomer. Shaggy, unkempt, mousey brown hair curving around his stubbly jaw – it was as if this man hadn't bothered to even brush his hair in the last few days – and dressed equally as sloppy. His yellow shirt was far too large, and showed stains – hopefully from food – and ripped up black pants, complimented only by his undone green flak jacket. Iruka grimaced, but waved him in. This was yet another Jounin, and despite his looks, he did earn that flak jacket – I just hoped he wasn't my Jounin sensei. Ah, but when have my wishes today come true?

"Team 9, this will be your sensei – Taro, Ryuunoske."

Ryuunoske Taro, where had I heard that name before? Something was ticking away in the far reaches of my mind telling me I really _should _know that name. I shook off the feeling of familiarity, and stood from my seat, Rei and Kai followed behind me, and while Rei was smiling, I could detect worry in Kai – did he recognize this man too, and if so, where from?

"Ryuunoske, this is Rei Ueda, Kai Fudan, and Nemuri Fudan." Introduced Iruka, pointing to each of us in turn. Wide golden eyes turned to focus on Kai and myself – before firmly setting themselves into a glare.

"No." What?

"These teams were chosen by the Hokage himself – you cannot say 'no' until -" Ryuunoske cut Iruka off, slamming a fist into a desk, splintering the wood.

"Fuck. No." He responded, I could feel the hate coming off of our new sensei in waves. A killing intent, aimed solely at Kai and I. And then, in an tsunami of disgust, I knew why he was so angry. I finally recognized him, and couldn't stop the words from flowing out of my mouth;

"Junko." It was a whisper, barely even audible, but a jounin like Ryunnoske had no problem picking it up.

"Even this little bitch understands! I told the Hokage I wanted nothing to do with the Fudan's and their fucked up offspring, and yet, here I stand. Give me another team – because I swear Iruka, I will fucking kill them both, and it'll look like a mission gone wrong. Providing they don't get themselves killed first!" Everyone remaining, even the Uchiha brat, was wide-eyed in shock. They were legitimately scared of this man, and frankly, so was I. Focused on my feet, I could feel Kai's warm hand grasp my right arm just below the elbow – and I turned to him. We may not have our full Kyokan yet – not fully developing it until we were sixteen, but he always was an empathetic sort.

"Hey! I may not understand what this is about – but you're our sensei now!" Yelled Rei. "Whatever issues you have with Nemuri and Kai's clan, that's with their clan, not with them!" For the first time, Rei sounded angry – furious even – I didn't think the boy could get angry. He was always happy from what I recall – happy and boisterous, with absolutely no ill-will towards anyone, not even Naruto! Ryuunoske sneered, and glared at Rei.

"Alright then. You three go for lunch, and then meet me a Kikyo Castle. We'll see if you kids really have what it takes to pass my test. And Iruka, I'll be seeing the Hokage and yourself about this soon, understand?" And with that he was gone. Iruka let out a sigh, and turned back to us,

"Sorry about this… If I could change your sensei I would, but these are the Hokage's orders. I'm sure he didn't mean what he said. Anyway, you three only have a short lunch break; Ryuunoske doesn't like people being tardy." Iruka tried his best to gloss over the situation, but I knew his words were meaningless. Ryuunoske Taro was going to be our sensei, whether any of us liked it or not.

The three of us trudged out of the academy, Kai's hand still wrapped tightly around my forearm.

"So…are you two gonna tell me what all of _that_ was about? He seems to really hate you two, even though it seems like you just met," Asked Rei, walking just ahead of us. I yanked my arm out of Kai's grip, moving to walk beside Rei.

"I'm afraid we can't. Clan secrets an' all. Surely you understand, you come from quite the family of medics, and they wouldn't want any of their secret healing methods getting out, yeah?" I replied, "Ah, any idea where we should eat?"

"I guess you're right, but like, if he's willing to get us all killed, don't you think it's only right I should know? I don't want to die because of some 'clan secret'! And besides, you've heard of Lady Tsunade, right? She's managed to debunk all of my family's healing techniques, at least she promised to only pass them on to her direct apprentice," remarked Rei. "I hear the barbeque place, Yakiniku Q is pretty good."

"Forgive us Rei, we really can't say why our sensei is so angry," Kai commented, finally speaking up. "I think I overheard Yukiko and Tsukiko talking about Yakiniku Q the other day, Nemuri-chan."

"Yeah, probably, those two are always ranting and raving about the food joints they visit. Ino-chan also speaks highly of it," I drawled. "We might as well go there. One more thing, if you guys are comfortable with it – since we're going to be teammates anyway, would it be okay to drop the 'chan, san, and kun'?" Rei nodded enthusiastically, and after a moment of thought, Kai nodded as well.

We finished our lunch quickly; having eaten at Yakiniku Q was a good idea after all. I could see now why it was so popular, the meat was high quality and service was quick. But the atmosphere when we finished eating seemed to hit rock bottom. None of us were excited to see Ryuunoske, part of me wondered if he _had _spoken to the Hokage and gotten someone to replace him as our sensei. I couldn't really blame him, knowing about his past with my family, but surely he had more integrity then that. He was a jounin of Konoha, it was his duty to not only protect the village, but to teach Konoha's youth, to teach _us_, the way of the ninja. The closer we came to Kikyo Castle, the more dread began to build up in me. Kai reached out to me, and placed his hand on my shoulder –

"We'll be fine," He spoke, and with that, the rest of our journey was silent.

While we couldn't go any farther then the steps of Kikyo Castle, we really didn't need too. Waiting for us, a scowl on his face, was Ryuunoske Taro. His arms were crossed, and as soon as he noticed us, his scowl deepened and his glare intensified. I could feel his killing intent, and judging from the shiver that ran through Kai, he could feel it as well. Rei, however, was completely unfazed by Ryuunoske's hatred, ignoring the glare and scowl and smiling as if nothing was going on.

"Well. I couldn't convince the Hokage to switch me out, so looks like I'm stuck with you three – for now at least. Lucky for me, there's still one more task for you to complete before you become actual ninjas and I get saddled with you." Ryuunoske forced the words out, bitter about everything that had occurred today. "So, I'm gonna give each of you a task, and if even one of you fails to complete it, I'll fail you – and you'll get sent back to the academy. Understand? Good. There are several rules you need to abide by – One, you are not permitted to help each other out. You need to complete this mission on your own! If I catch you helping each other out, even giving hints to each other, I'll send your asses back. Two, you have _exactly _twenty-four hours to complete the mission, even a minute longer and you fail! Three, you can't tell anyone else what your specific task is. Trust me, I'll know if you do. Now, one at a time, I'll give you a scroll – your job is to find the identical scroll somewhere in Konoha. You'll each get _one _hint from me as to its location. Kai, you're up first."

Ryuunoske handed Kai a dark green scroll, and then whispered in his ear. When Ryuunoske withdrew, Kai gave a sharp nod, looked back at me, and then ran off. Rei was next, and was given a white scroll with a circular symbol on the seal. Once again, Ryuunoske whispered to Rei, and again, Rei took off without a word. Finally, it was my turn. Ryuunoske handed me a black scroll, and pulled me close to him.

_ "__Only one survivor, a compound left empty." _

That was my hint, and Ryuunoske disappeared. I started running through all the locations in Konoha, it was a compound – that meant it belonged to a clan at some point. According to the hint, there was only one person left of that clan too. But this was a ninja village, there were plenty of clans that were wiped out over the years, and furthermore, could he be referencing the Senju maybe? Lady Tsunade _was _descended from the Senju, one of the founding clans. Or maybe the Uzumaki clan – Naruto was the only Uzumaki in Konoha, and I recall my Mother teaching me about the downfall of Uzushiogakure and the Uzumaki clan (all the while muttering about how they would all be so ashamed of Naruto). But neither of those clans held a compound in Konoha. There was one more possibility in the back of my mind – the Uchiha compound. Sasuke was the sole survivor, and they did have a compound located on the edge of the village – but no one was permitted access to the compound, and even years after the massacre, the place was still guarded under the insistence of councilman Danzo. But there was nowhere else that matched Ryuunoske's description so well, and I wasn't allowed to ask for assistance in locating the scroll. I had to take the chance that it was located in the Uchiha compound, which meant somehow sneaking past the chunin guards, _and _successfully searching the entire compound without being found. Futhermore, would Ryuunoske hide it outside the houses, or inside? The thought of searching through the homes of people who had died in such a cruel way – it sent chills down my spine. Despite my internal protests though, I _needed _to complete this mission. I didn't even want to think about how my parents would react if I was returned to the academy; I just hope Kai and Rei had good luck with their missions. We all needed to succeed, no matter what it took.


End file.
